#coffeeneuring 2019: Sometimes laziness gets rewarded

Ah yes, another one of those Saturdays: The weather wasn't exactly bad for it being late October, but it also wasn't great. The will to go outside and get another coffeeneuring ride in was there -- but it also wasn't very strong. I wasted some time on the couch, dreaming up different route options: "Oh, maybe I can collect a tile! Or maybe I should have coffee outside at Donald Park! Or what about just doing a fast ride to Firefly?" All this planning didn't result in any action, and eventually I resigned to just doing a very short coffeeneuring ride: My friend Kevin had invited us to an evening campfire in a local park, just about a mile away from our home. I figured I could bring my #coffeeoutside set-up and enjoy a strong coffee by the fire. Well, I brought all the equipment. Except for the coffee. So much for that.

Fortunately there was another weekend day left: Kevin and I made plans to ride out on Sunday morning, with Fat Cat Coffee Works in New Glarus as our destination. After heavy rain overnight, the morning looked beautiful but chilly. We adjusted our departure time by one hour and met up at 10. Things had started to warm up by then, and soon we would have to shed our first layers. Kevin had planned a route that would include a number of hills and we rode at a fast pace. It was a perfect fall day.

At Fat Cat we were surprised to see no other bikes. It's a very popular local cycling destination and on a day like today we would have expected dozens of other cyclists there. Kevin ordered a mocha and a burrito; I had a sizable cold brew (no vegan baked goods available). At this point it was warm enough to even sit outside!

As we enjoyed the rest, drinks, and food, eventually the anticipated bike crowd arrived and we spotted some familiar faces: Michael Jones and some of his roadie friends arrived first, shortly followed by a large group of cyclists coming from the direction of New Glarus State Park. I didn't recognize anyone, but Kevin did: "Brian!" And then Brian was like, "Kevin! And you're Harald, aren't you?" Only after some more conversation between Kevin and Brian I finally made the connection: Brian was a randonneur from Chicago who had ridden with us on our brevet back in May. Oh right, the strong guy on whose wheel I sat into the first control. And through some implausible coincidence, Brian also knew someone who had gone to high school with Kevin way back when and the two also had been camping together many years back. And somehow there also was some "Oh, yeah, and my friend so-and-so bought that something-something frame from you." Bike nerd world is a small world. Brian and his friends had been doing a final fall overnight at the state park and were now ready for breakfast, just as we headed out again back to Madison.

And the moral of the story: Sometimes it pays off to be lazy. You may be rewarded with a most wonderful warm fall ride the next day.

Rider names: Harald, Kevin
Ride #: 4
Date: 10/27
Total mileage: 56 mi (90.5 km)
Drink: Cold brew. Don't order the large, as the medium was already very sizable.
Location: Fat Cat Coffee Works, New Glarus (WI)

#coffeeneuring 2019, ride 3: Cambridge again, but on the tandem

Finally: The forecast had predicted a sunny, warm, and calm day for Sunday -- perfect to get out the tandem, gather some people, and do coffeeneuring ride number three. My stoker Nicole and I were joined by Grant and Jen on their beautiful Rivendell tandem, as well as Matt. The destination once again was Cambridge: The flat route accommodates tandems well, Nicole had never been to Cambridge, and the distance would be just right.

The day started out foggy. Despite a 10 am start, we didn't see the sun for the first hour of the ride. Nicole was rather cold on the bike and eventually decided to put on my spare wool jersey I had packed. Of course, not much later the fog finally dissolved, and with the sun out it quickly warmed up. Like last week, we followed Koshkonong Road east all the way to Rockdale and the turned on the Camrock trail. Despite it being mid October, the turtles were still out and Grant even spotted a snake. And on the left of the trail, MTBers were catching big air on the newly constructed "Mayor's Playground" jumps that just opened this week.

The gorgeous Hubbuhubbuh tandem...

Once in Cambridge, we decided to check out the Cambridge Market Cafe. It's across the street from Kindfolk, my destination last week, and in the same spot as the Camrock Cafe and bike shop used to be. At this point it was warm enough to sit outside, and me and my companions enjoyed coffee, soup, and breakfast burritos. At $6 for a burrito and a side of soup, this was a pretty good deal! I had a cold brew, which was alright.

For the way back, we followed the usual route on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Grant had pointed out that there was a neighborhood festival on the north side of Madison, partly as a protest against the plans to have F-35 fighter jets in Madison. This was definitely a good decision: Beer, politics, music, and a vegan food cart made for an excellent finale of the ride.

Rider names: Harald, Nicole, Grant, Jen, Matt
Ride #: 3
Date: 10/20
Total mileage: 58 mi (93.5 km)
Drink: Steep and Brew cold brew
Location: Cambridge Market Cafe, Cambridge (WI)

Vegan "chicken" BBQ sandwich on a pretzel bun by Just Veggiez

#coffeeneuring 2019: Ride 2, one gear, one coffee

Taaaaailwind!

Ride one of Coffeeneuring 2019 was warm and wet; ride two was cold and dry. What the rides had in common was a blustery wind. Temperatures had dropped rapidly from Friday to Saturday, and by Sunday morning it was barely above freezing. I did not appreciate that all and spent a good portion of the morning pouting on the couch, feeling sorry for myself, and reading indoor trainer reviews. By 10:30 I had finally pulled myself together and was determined to get out on my fixie, collect a tile or two, and get another coffeeneuring ride on the books.

Camrock connector trail

The wind was coming straight from the west, and I decided to ride it on the way out. The obvious coffee location was Kindfolk in Cambridge, a relatively new and hip coffee shop in this village of 1500. I took the most direct and navigationally easy route, the strong tailwind powering me along. The route is flat enough that I rarely spun out my 40x17 gear, and Strava says I got a number of PRs.

The coffee at Kindfolk was excellent. A light roast from Kickapoo, prepared as a pour-over. As I was drinking the coffee, I flipped through an old copy of Barista magazine that featured a special about coffee in Wisconsin, including Kindfolk. I always find it enjoyable to read trade publications of trades that I don't know a lot about -- what kind of themes do they cover, what products are advertised, ...

Crossing Koshkonong Creek

The way back was a different story. After leaving Kindfolk, I picked up one tile on the far side of Cambridge and then it was time to head into the wind. My gearing now was anything but ideal and I struggled along on my way to the second and last tile collection of the day. A previous attempt to get that tile had failed, and so this time I took it safe -- which meant riding on the shoulder of US 12/18 for a couple miles. The paved shoulder is narrow, but as there wasn't any truck traffic it wasn't too bad. A brief moment of excitement came when a a badly secured hunting blind fell off a pickup truck just after it had passed me. Fortunately there weren't any cars following closely and I was able to quickly stop and pull the debris to the shoulder as the driver backed up.

A few miles farther I got to the Glacial Drumlin Trail, a rail trail lined with trees that provided a little shelter from the headwind. Nonetheless, I was still struggling a bit and finally decided to stop and flip my wheel. I have a fixed/fixed flip-flop hub, and going from a 17 to an 18 cog made my life much easier. By the time I arrived home, I still was pretty done -- but happy that I had convinced myself to get out the house!

Kickapoo are a Wisconsin-based roaster. Out of respect for the Kickapoo nation, they're going to rebrand soon.

Rider name: Harald
Ride #: 2
Date: 10/13
Total mileage: 54 mi (93 km)
Drink: Kickapoo Guatemala Concepcion pour-over
Location: Kindfolk Coffee, Cambridge (WI)
Podcasts/music:

• Antritt, a German bike podcast, this episode featuring Jan Heine talking about tire production
• BBC Newshour, my main news broadcast
• BBC Documentary podcast about Cuba's Digital Revolution
• Martyrdöd: Hexhammaren

#coffeeneuring 2019: A damp start into the season

It's Coffeeneuring season once again -- and I got another early start this year.

I had tried to get a little group together by advertising the ride among my local FB riding group, but between the timing -- 6:30-7 am -- and the weather forecast, I didn't get anything but a handful of "maybes." My alarm went off at 5:30 am. I was prepared for rain but wasn't sure how bad it would be. A glance at the weather radar looked promising: One system had just passed through and it seemed like the next one was still farther west. Well, don't trust the interwebs: As soon as I left the house, I knew that it would be a wet ride. It was warm, blustery, and the air was filled with something between mist and rain.

Coffee's ready!

The destination for the morning was McDaniel Park in McFarland. In theory, the ride there is very scenic: almost all on trails, including a long boardwalk along a lake. In practice, today it was too dark and rainy to see much.

Arrived at the park. No daylight yet, just my BUMM headlight

I arrived at the park at 6:28 am and, as expected, I was the only person there. I had picked McDaniel Park partly because it offers a picnic shelter for conditions like today's. The shelter certainly helped, but even then the wind howled across the open lake and made it difficult to keep my coffee-making supplies in place. One hand on the wind screen, the other holding on to my improvised tablecloth or whatever was being blown away at that moment...

Heading back on the boardwalk

After enjoying my cup of coffee as it slowly got lighter, I didn't linger long. The rain accompanied me on the way to my meeting downtown, and I was glad to have brought a change of clothes.

Short respite from the rain in our famous Monona Terrace bike elevator

Rides like today's are what coffeeneuring is all about for me: Without the challenge I certainly wouldn't have ridden 20 miles on a day, or had coffee anywhere but on my couch.

Arriving at work, now really soaked

Rider name: Harald
Ride #: 1
Date: 10/11
Total mileage: 19 mi (31 km)
Drink: Equal Exchange Breakfast Blend, prepared in a Moka Express on a DIY alcohol stove
Location: McDaniel Park, McFarland (WI)

PS Apologies for all the selfies and potato-quality pics. In the morning rush I had left my proper camera at home.